Means for generating electrical oscillations



R. A. WEAGANT.

MEANS FOR GENERATING ELECTRICAL OSCILLATIONS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, I914.

193%9 1 @D Patented July 12, 1192116 ears are nor A. wnaean'r, or ROSELLE r rrnw JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY mnsn'n assrenrrnn'rs, no nanro conronarron or AMERICA, a conrona'rron or BMW :1

FOR GENERATING ELECTRICAL OSCILLAT'IONS.

, Application filed April 9,

Generating Electrical Oscillations, of which v the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce means for generating electrical oscillations by means of a gaseous conducting medium' 'which shall be small, simple and relativel cheap, shall have no moving parts, shal have reliable adjustments and be adapted-to work continuously without attention.

These oscillations are capable of a variety of'uses. They may be used for wireless or wire telegraphy or telephon or any other purpose for which such oscillations may be found useful.

In the drawingaccompanying this specification I have illustrated one of the many applications of my invention, the illustration being in connection with wireless telegraphy. This illustration is intended primar-ily to show an operative structure in which my new means of obtaining electrical oscillations are used, and is not-to be under stood as showing the only form or manner in which my inventionanay be used.

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically one embodiment of the complete system;

Fig. 2 shows a system of the same general kind in which some of the details have been varied,

Referring to the drawings and particularly to F 1, these show my invention as applied'to tie transmitting station of a wireless telegraph system, the aerial is shown at 1, the aerial tuning inductance at 2, the 'pri mary of a transformer at 3, the aerial being earthed at 4;, as usual, connected to the aerial by means of the secondary 5 of a transformer, or any equivalent means, is a circuit which includes a vessel 6. This vessel 6 may be a sealed vessel preferably of glass or similar material inclosing a plurality of conducting elements or electrodes stip arated by a conducting gaseous medium. arefied air or any other suitable medium may be used, such for instance as mercury vapor.

The useof these substances involves: no "change in the apparatus. ...In the particular Specification of Letters Patent.

' ments, preferably the hot element Patented July I2, 1921. 1914. Serial no. 830,584..

is heated by any convenient source of heat such as a battery or other source of current 8, a cold element 9 in'the form of a plate, and a second cold element 10, which is preferably in the form of a grid or spiral of wire. The filament is preferably formed. of a substance adapted to give up a copious supply of corpuscles when heated to incandescence. The cold elements 9 and 10 may be formed of nickel or any other suitable material and are not necessarily of the partic'ular form shown.

The terminals of the secondary 5 of the transformer are preferably connected one to the grid element 10 and the other, through a key 11, to the hot element 7. Across the terminals of secondary 5 a variable condenser 12 may be connected so that a resonant circuit may be established through the condenser and secondary 5 of the transformer. I

Attached to two'of the conducting ele- 7 and the cold element "9, is a local circuit, which may for convenience be called the energizing circuit. A. telephone or other in icating'instrument 13 which is used to ascertain the correctness of the adjustments ma be included in the energizing circuit. I his telephone is preferably shunted by a condenser 1a which provides a convenient adjustment. In series with the telephone a relativel high variable resistance 15 may be place which resistance is shunted by a variable condenser 16. Although I prefer to include resistance 15 in the energizing circuit, it is.

not necessary to the operation of my device. In series with the resistance is a relatively powerful battery or other source of electric current 17 which furnishes the energy for the production of oscillations in vessel 6. 1

tion. The voltage of the battery 17 is then I adjusted until a high note is heard in'the telephone 13, after which condenser 14, or condenser 16, or both, are varied until the note is no longer heard in the telephone. A faint 'blue glow is then usually observable in the vessel, which I believe to ind-ioatethat raphy,

v ionization or the .gas contained therein has set in. The inductance 5 and the condenser 12 are then adjusted until the values are such as to produce the desired wave length.

The aerial circuit 1, 2, 3, 4, is then adjusted until it is in tune with the oscillations being produced by the generating means. lhe signals are produced by opening and closing key 11 or in any other well known manner,

after the proper adjustments of the generat ing means have been obtained.

An important advantage of my device consists in the fact that in its operation a very through the hot element 7 creates a large variation of the current delivered to the aerial. In a similar manner a small potendeparting from the spirit of my invention.

For instance, when used for Wireless telegan auto-transformer may be used instead of an inductive coupling, or other connections to the aerial may be made use of. Also, instead of using the key 11 a continuous emission of waves may be produced and their wave lengths varied by varying the inductance of the aerial in order to produce a signal. When used in wire telegraphy or telephony, any desired Wire circuit may be substituted for the aerial, and when used in wireless, or wire, telephony a telephone transmitter and receiver may be introduced in one of the circuits at a convenient point. Examples of such modifications are-illustrated in Fig. 2, which I shows the circuits adapted to be used either for receiving or transmitting in a. wireless telephone system. I have not described the exact method of making all of these modifications and applications of my device and the many others which might be made, since they can be readily made in manners which will be understood by those skilled in the art. 1 I a What I claim is:

1. An oscillation generator system including a sealed evacuated vessel in which oscillations are.generated, said vessel inclos-- ing three electrodes, means for maintaining current through one of said electrodes, two

-circuits exterior to said vessel and consmall variation of the current passing arated by a conducting gaseous medium.

conducting gaseous medmm,

combination.-

'dion havi circuit, an energizing circuit comprising a battery and a non-inductive resistance, and means for adjusting said resistance, the said circuits being connected through a sealed vessel inclosing a plurality of elements sep- 3. Means for generating electrical oscillations comprising an oscillation generating circuit, an energizing circuit containing a source of energy in series with a non-inductive resistance, associated with the generating circuits through a sealed vessel inclosing 'a plurality of elements separated by a and variable means in said energizing circuit for control-. ling the flow of current therein.

4:. An oscillation generator system including a vacuum valve having a plate, grid and filament elements, and circuit connections.

therefor, and a non-inductive resistance connected between the filament and one of the other elements, and an output circuit for the generated oscillations.

5. Means for generating electrical oscillations comprising an oscillation generating circuit tuned to the periodicity of the oscil-' lations-it is desired to generate, an energizing circuit containing a source of energy in series with a non-inductive resistance shunted by a condense associated with the generating -circuit thr ugh a sealed vessel incldsing a plurality of'elements, able means in said energizing circuit for controlling the rate of flow of the" current therein.

6. 'In an oscillation generator system, the"'"' combination with a normally oscillatingau- 110 dion having three terminal elements and a inc -inductive resistance connected between two of the elements of the audion.

-7. In an- 'oscillation generator system,-the

hree electrode members and a non-inductive resistance connected between two of the electrodemembers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the 'presenceof two wit- 20 nesses this Sthday otlhpril, 1914. I 1.; nor A1 WEAGANT.

Witnesses:

WALTER S. JONES, WM. M.

and vari- "ithfa normally oscillating au- 

